NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A162
SPONSOR: Weprin TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the executive law, in relation to findings of the state
board of parole necessary for discretionary release of incarcerated
individuals on parole
PURPOSE:
Provides that the Board of Parole shall release inmates upon completion
of their minimum terms of incarceration unless doing so presents an
unreasonable public safety risk or the inmate is unlikely to live with-
out violating the law.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 amends Executive Law § 259-i (2)(c)(A). Section 2 provides an
effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
When making a decision about whether to release an inmate to community
supervision, the Board of Parole is currently required to take into
account the inmate's likelihood of committing future crimes upon release
and to determine whether or not an inmate's release will deprecate the
seriousness of the crime. In practice, the Board does not often release
an inmate on his or her first. appearance if the underlying crime was
violent, even it if it took place more that 25 years prior to the board
appearance and the inmate has a low risk of reoffending. Current law
also makes the board susceptible to political pressure to deny parole to
inmates with high profile crimes even if they are thoroughly rehabili-
tated with excellent prison records because such a release could be
considered by advocacy groups to "deprecate the seriousness of his
crime." In 2015, only 17% of inmates were released upon their first
board appearances, and only 20% on subsequent appearances. The Board's
failure to grant parole to low risk inmates results in expensive,
prolonged, unnecessary incarceration of middle aged and older inmates
who have a very low probability of recidivism and who are very expensive
to incarcerate because of high medical costs.
This bill would require the board to release people to community super-
vision when their minimum period of incarceration has been served unless
there is a clearly articulated current public safety reason to keep them
in prison. On subsequent board appearances, there would be a presumption
of release unless the board determines by a preponderance of evidence
that an inmate is unlikely to live without violating the law and that
his or her release poses an unreasonable public safety risk.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
05/01/17 referred to correction
06/06/17 reported referred to codes 01/03/18 referred to codes
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
This bill will save the state approximately $60,000 per year for every
inmate ,who is released upon the completion of his or her minimum
sentence but who would have been kept in prison under current. law. It
has no costs associated with it.
LOCAL FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Immediately.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
162
2023-2024 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY(Prefiled)
January 4, 2023
___________
Introduced by M. of A. WEPRIN, WALKER, FAHY, HUNTER, CRUZ, DICKENS,
MAMDANI, GONZALEZ-ROJAS, MITAYNES, KELLES, BURDICK, ANDERSON, MEEKS,
SEPTIMO, BURGOS, DAVILA, ZINERMAN, RAMOS, GALLAGHER, CLARK,
PEOPLES-STOKES, BICHOTTE HERMELYN, SAYEGH, LUPARDO, JACOBSON, GLICK,
JACKSON, HYNDMAN, DARLING, STECK, PAULIN, GIBBS, FALL, BRONSON,
RIVERA, TAPIA, CUNNINGHAM, LUCAS, DE LOS SANTOS -- Multi-Sponsored by
-- M. of A. THIELE -- read once and referred to the Committee on
Correction
AN ACT to amend the executive law, in relation to findings of the state
board of parole necessary for discretionary release of incarcerated
individuals on parole
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subparagraph (A) of paragraph (c) of subdivision 2 of
2 section 259-i of the executive law, as amended by chapter 322 of the
3 laws of 2021, is amended to read as follows:
4 (A) [Discretionary release] Release on parole shall [not] be granted
5 [merely as a reward for good conduct or efficient performance of duties
6 while confined but after considering if there is a reasonable probabili-
7 ty that, if such incarcerated individual is released, he or she will
8 live and remain at liberty without violating the law, and that his or
9 her release is not incompatible with the welfare of society and will not
10 so deprecate the seriousness of his or her crime as to undermine respect
11 for law] to any incarcerated individual appearing before the board who
12 is eligible for release on parole, unless the parole case record demon-
13 strates there is a current and unreasonable risk the individual will
14 violate the law if released and such risk cannot be mitigated by parole
15 supervision. In making the [parole release decision] determination as
16 to whether an individual poses a current and unreasonable risk of
17 violating the law if released, the procedures adopted pursuant to subdi-
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD00229-01-3
A. 162 2
1 vision four of section two hundred fifty-nine-c of this article shall
2 require that the following be considered: (i) [the institutional record
3 including program goals and accomplishments, academic achievements,] any
4 and all evidence of rehabilitation and reform, including but not limited
5 to selection for participation in a temporary release program, partic-
6 ipation in other programming, therapeutic support, community service, or
7 vocational education, and any training or work assignments that the
8 department made available to the incarcerated individual, [therapy and
9 interactions with] and statements of support from staff, volunteers and
10 other incarcerated individuals; (ii) [performance, if any, as a partic-
11 ipant in a temporary release program; (iii)] release plans including
12 support from family members and community [resources] networks, employ-
13 ment, [education] educational and training opportunities, clinical,
14 therapeutic and other reentry services, and any other available support
15 services [available to the incarcerated individual; (iv)]; (iii) any
16 deportation order issued by the federal government against the incarcer-
17 ated individual while in the custody of the department and any recommen-
18 dation regarding deportation made by the commissioner of the department
19 pursuant to section one hundred forty-seven of the correction law; (iv)
20 the length of the determinate sentence to which the incarcerated indi-
21 vidual would be subject had he or she received a sentence pursuant to
22 section 70.70 or section 70.71 of the penal law for a felony defined in
23 article two hundred twenty or article two hundred twenty-two of the
24 penal law; (v) any current or prior statement made to the board by the
25 crime victim or the victim's representative, where the crime victim is
26 deceased or is mentally or physically incapacitated; (vi) [the length of
27 the determinate sentence to which the incarcerated individual would be
28 subject had he or she received a sentence pursuant to section 70.70 or
29 section 70.71 of the penal law for a felony defined in article two
30 hundred twenty or article two hundred twenty-one of the penal law;
31 (vii)] the seriousness of the offense with due consideration to the type
32 of sentence, length of sentence and recommendations of the sentencing
33 court, the district attorney, the attorney for the incarcerated individ-
34 ual, the pre-sentence probation report as well as consideration of any
35 mitigating and aggravating factors, and activities following arrest
36 prior to confinement; and [(viii)] (vii) prior criminal record, includ-
37 ing the nature and pattern of offenses, adjustment to any previous
38 probation or parole supervision and institutional confinement. In
39 considering whether there is a current and unreasonable risk the indi-
40 vidual will violate the law if released and such risk cannot be miti-
41 gated by parole supervision, the board shall not base their determi-
42 nation solely or primarily on any or all of the factors contained in
43 clauses (v) through (vii) of this subparagraph. The board shall explain
44 in writing in detailed, individualized, and non-conclusory terms the
45 basis for a denial of parole, including how the parole case record and
46 the enumerated factors were considered and weighed. The board shall
47 provide toll free telephone access for crime victims. In the case of an
48 oral statement made in accordance with subdivision one of section 440.50
49 of the criminal procedure law, the parole board member shall present a
50 written report of the statement to the parole board. A crime victim's
51 representative shall mean the crime victim's closest surviving relative,
52 the committee or guardian of such person, or the legal representative of
53 any such person. Such statement submitted by the victim or victim's
54 representative may include information concerning threatening or intim-
55 idating conduct toward the victim, the victim's representative, or the
56 victim's family, made by the person sentenced and occurring after the
A. 162 3
1 sentencing. Such information may include, but need not be limited to,
2 the threatening or intimidating conduct of any other person who or which
3 is directed by the person sentenced. Any statement by a victim or the
4 victim's representative made to the board shall be maintained by the
5 department in the file provided to the board when interviewing the
6 incarcerated individual in consideration of release. A victim or
7 victim's representative who has submitted a written request to the
8 department for the transcript of such interview shall be provided such
9 transcript as soon as it becomes available.
10 § 2. The state board of parole shall report quarterly in writing to
11 the governor, the temporary president of the senate, the minority leader
12 of the senate, the speaker of the assembly, the minority leader of the
13 assembly, and to the chairpersons of the assembly committee on
14 correction and the senate committee on crime victims, crime and
15 correction on denials of parole. Written reports shall include the
16 number of individuals denied parole release each month, the articulated
17 reasons for each denial, the assigned commissioners in each case and a
18 record of their votes, and demographic information on each applicant
19 denied including race, sex, facility, and crime of conviction. Reports
20 shall exclude information that would identify the individual. Reports
21 required by this section shall be made available to the public and post-
22 ed quarterly on the websites maintained by the state board of parole.
23 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
